WHAT EVERY NEW CLUB DELEGATE SHOULD KNOW!
Congratulations! — On becoming a delegate or proxy for your club and joining over thirty other club delegates who receive notices of meetings, agendas and minutes of the meetings. In 1999 there were 11 clubs affiliated with the ACCWA. Today there are 32 which means club delegates represent over 2000 caravanners.
The main aims of the Association is to:
- “Foster and promote caravanning” and
- “Encourage caravanners to appreciate and preserve the beauty of the natural environment”
Of the two people from your Club, one will be known as “the Delegate” and the other as the “Proxy”. In effect this means that at Association meetings each club just has one vote i.e. that of the delegate. Both appointed representatives (delegate and proxy) are encouraged to attend meetings of ACCWA delegates which are held on six occasions throughout the year, i.e. On the third Wednesday in January, March. May, July, September and November. November is also the month for the Annual General Meeting which is followed by the normal bi-monthly meeting.
The current meeting place is at the RAAF Association Administration Building, Bull Creek Drive Bull Creek. For information on attending these meetings click here. Meetings start at 7.30 pm and are usually concluded by 9.00 pm with a little after-meeting discussion on an informal basis with other delegates or office bearers. (Generally all office bearers will give a report during the meeting and you may wish to ask further questions either during or after the meeting.)
Currently meeting reminders, Reports, Minutes of the previous Meeting, and Agendas are Emailed or posted to delegates seven days before the meeting and minutes, usually within 7 days after the meeting. In time these items will also be available for you to read by Logging into the Delegates Section of the ACCWA website. To facilitate this you will be asked for your Email address and you will have your own User ID and Password. Once you receive or download these items you can use them and the CaravansWest Update as the basis for reporting to your Club Committee and members about ACCWA.
As a delegate you are the main face to face contact between your Club and ACCWA. Club Secretaries are usually provided with similar material and in time, they will be able to access it from the ACCWA Website.
On certain occasions however, the ACCWA Secretary will communicate direct with Club Secretaries — usually on matters of procedure i.e. Public Liability Insurance, Affiliation fees, general questionnaires, etc.
At the meeting you will be asked to to sign under your club heading and ensure that your attendance is listed in the minutes.
The following reports are on the agenda of most meetings:
- Caravan Park Reviews where delegates are encouraged to report on aspects – good and bad – that could be of interest to other delegates, about parks recently visited by their club
- Issues from the National Association of Caravan Clubs such as use of the clubs online database and the NACC Benefits Card scheme
- Written reports from each Standing Committee Chairperson
On occasions there might be a speaker from either the Caravan Industry Association, other Consumer groups, or a Government Department on topics of interest to our members.
A copy of the ACCWA constitution (including two important by-laws) can be found on this website by clicking here.
As a new delegate you should download and read the Constitution and By Laws as they set out the Structure of ACCWA and the Standing Orders
ACCWA has a twice yearly magazine WA CARAVAN & CAMPING in which you will be listed as a club delegate with your phone number as well your club secretary.
WA CARAVAN & CAMPING is published in November and April and your club’s supply of these books will be brought to the Association meeting for collection and distribution by you.
